Barking drum drive



Oct. 14, 1947.` N. A. GRAY BARKING DRUM DRIVE INVENTOR. J QM Filed Dec.2,7, 1944 A TTORA/E Ys.

Patented Oct. 14, 1947 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE DRUM DRIV Newenham A.Gray, Wausau, Wis., assgnor to D. J. Murray Manufacturing Co., Wausau',Wis., a corporation of Wisconsin Application December 27, 1944, SerialNo. 569,939

(Cl. 14A-208)' 7 Claims. 1

This invention relates in general to improvements in the art of removingbark from logs,Y and relates more specifically to an improved system ofsupporting and operating so.called barking drums wherein the bark isremoved by tumbling and cascading masses of' logs over each other..

The primary object of my invention is to provide an improved mode ofmounting and drivingv a barking drum of the type having an annularseries of elongated bars surrounded and interconnected by a plurality ofannular retaining elements, in order to relieve the bars and elementsfrom undue stresses and. strains.

It has heretofore been customary inthe. paper manufacturingv industry todebark logs which were subsequently used in the production of the brouspulp,A by rumbling groups Voil' the logs. in a rotary ,barking drumcomprising an annular series of long ilat -bars embraced by and attachedto a series of concentric annular elements such as retainer rings,tires, and a driving gear. In the past each of these barkingdrums'ordinarily embodied parallel channel bars vwhich were spaced.apart so as to provide openings. between. theV successive bars, and theoppositev ends` of the bars were secured to end rings While themid-portions thereof' were connected to a single annular bull gear andthe portions on the opposite sides. ofthe gear and' between the latterand the end rings were attached to. annular supporting tires whichcoacted with sets of suitable supporting rollers, as clearly shown inpending application Serial No. 552,675, liled September 4, 1944. Thebars were preferably weldedto their conning rings, gear, and tires, and'the drum units were sometimes used in alined sets of two or morerotatable. about a common axis by means ofv driving pinions coactingwith the bull gears ofthe units and which were driven from any suitablepower source.

Considerable diilculty has been encountered in` the commercial operationof'such' barking drum units, by virtue of the fact that the drivingpower was applied to each drum through a central driving gear attacheddirectly to the component bars, and was' transmitted through portions ofthese bars to the supporting tires located remote from the driving gear,thus causing the bars to defiect and vibrate under varying loadconditions and eventually producing breakage of the bars and ofv thefastenings between the barsV and their confining rings,A tires andgears. This destructive deection of the bars was augmented by thecentral loading ofthe drums and byY theA relatively heavy weight of thedrivingfgear, as well as by the torque imposed' upon the barsthemselves;l and eventually destroyed the drums especially in casesWhere the bars were welded to the adjacent conlining elements and thusproduced rigid connections. I have discovered that such destructiveeffects may be substantially eliminated or atleast greatly reduced, byavoiding transmission of dri'ving power through the bars. from one ringelementA to another, as from the bullgear to the tires, and that thismay be readily accomplished by applying/the drum rotating power directlyto one or more of' the tires or other annular supports..

Itis therefore a more specific object of the present invention, toprovide an improved driving and supporting assemblage for a drumcomprising an annular series of parallel bars embraced and intercon-nected by a series of rings, whereby rota.- tion may be mosteliectively impartedtothe drum without detrimentally affecting theconnections between the rings and bars.

Another speciiic object: of my invention is to provide an improveddriving system for a rotary drum formed of an annulus of elongated bars,whereby undesirable deflection and vibration. of the bars dueto loading,impact and power application,V are reduced to a minimum, and in whichthe life of the drumv structure is enhanced to. a maximum.

A further specific object of this invention is to provide. an improveddrive for a barking drum unit or the like, wherein the power is mosteffectively applied to the drum bars, and in which the unit is also mosteffectively s-upported for free rotation.

Still another specific object of the inventionis to provide animproved'systemv for driving two or more concentric barking drum unitssimultaneously but at differential speeds, sol that the logs beingtreated are subjected to maximum abrasive or rubbing action withoutbeing excessively spli'ntered or otherwise disintegrated.

These and other specific objects and advantages of the invention will beapparent from the following detailed description,

Fig. .1 is a somewhat diagrammatic side elevation of a pair ofconcentric rotary barking drum units, having the improved supporting anddrive ing system applied thereto;

Fig. 2 is a similarly diagrammatic` transverse section through oner ofthe rotary barking drum units, showing the mode of supporting anddriving the drum;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary section throughone of the supportingrollers for the rotary drum, and through a portion of an adjacentdriving gear and cylindrical tire assemblage; and

Fig. 4 is a similarly enlarged fragmentary section through thesupporting roller, driving gear and tire assemblage, but showingfrustro-conical coacting roller and tire surfaces.

While the present invention has special utility when applied to rotarybarking drum units each having an annular series of parallel bars weldedto surrounding rings, it is not my desire or intention to unnecessarilyrestrict the scope or utility of the improved features for use inconnection with other slotted or perforated drum structures.

Referring to the drawing, each of the improved barking drum unitscomprises primarily an annular series of elongated parallel slats orflat bars 1 separated by intervening spaces 8 and adapted to receivesuccessive batches or groups of logs 9; a pair of end rings IIJ firmlysecured to the opposite extreme ends of the Ibars 1 in any suitablemanner; a central retainer ring II embracing the mid-portions of thebars 1 and also being firmly secured thereto; a combined annular drivingor bull gear I2 and tire-ring I3 firmly secured to the bar annulusbetween the central ring II and each end ring II); a driving pinion I4coacting with each of the ring gears I2 and both being mounted upon acommon counter shaft I5 supported in bearings I6; means such as a gearI1 for rotating the countershaft I5 at any desired speed; and severalpairs of swingably suspended rollers I8 coacting with each tire-ring I3.

The elongated slats or bars 1 are preferably formed of channel sto-ckand have their side flanges fitted within successive recesses formed inassembly rings I9 and rigidly secured thereto by welds 2li, as shown inFigs. 2, 3 and 4 and in the copending application above referred to; andthe assembly rings I9 may be firmly attached to the adjacent tire-ringsI3 in any suitable manner as by bolting or welding. These assembly ringsI9 are used only at the supporting and driving zones, and the end ringsI0 and the central ring I I may be formed in a manner similar to that ofthe rings III, and also serve to facilitate assembly of the bars 1 andto subsequently maintain these bars in proper position. The successiveslots o-r spaces 8 which separate the adjacent bars 1, functionto permitthe removed bark and other debris to escape from the rotating drumassemblages by gravity, and the diameter and length of each drum may -bemade to suit the particular class of work which is to be performed.

The annular driving gears I2 and the tirerings I3 may be formed separateor integral as shown, and the tire-rings I3 may also be of several typesas illustrated. In the type specifically shown in Fig. 3, the peripheralbearing surfaces 2l of the ring I3, located directly on opposite sidesof the bull gear I2, are cylindrical, and are caused to coact withsupporting rollers I8 also having cylindrical bearing surfaces 22 andprovided with end flanges 23 spaced apart sufficiently to permit slightfloating of the cylindrical tires longitudinally of their axes. In theembodiment specifically shown in Fig. 4, the peripheral bearing surfaces24 of the ring I3, which are likewise located directly on opposite sidesof the bull gear I2, are frustro-conical in shape, and are caused tocoact with modified supporting rollers I8 having frustro-conical ortapered bearing surfaces 25, but no end flanges. While the cylindricaltype of tire may. permit slight lateral floating of the intervening ringgear I2, the frustro-concal or tapered type of tire prevents axialdisplacement of the driving gear associated therewith; and either orboth types of these tires may be utilized in conjunction with the samebarking drum. By employing one of each type of tirering I3 on each drumunit, as shown in Fig. l, the conical tires will hold one end portion ofthe drum against axial displacement, while the opposite end of the drumassemblage will be free to shift axially so as to accommodate any slightexpansion and contraction of the elongated bars l.

The supporting rollers I8 are mounted upon shafts 26 which arejournalled in brackets 21, and these brackets are swingably suspendedfrom pivot pins 28 in a well known manner. A pair of rollers I8 is thuscarried by each swingable bracket 21, andthis arrangement permits therollers VI8 to properly engage the adjacent tire-rings I3 even if slightirregularities should develop in the j tires or in the bracket supports.The counter shaft bearings IB may be mounted upon any suitable support,and motion may be imparted to the driving gears l1 from an electricmotor or the like through suitable speed reducing gearing, so that thebarking drums may normally be revolved through the pinions I4 and gearsI2 at any desired speed. While the barking drum units may be utilizedindividually, they may also be operated in alined pairs or multiple, asshown in Fig. 1, and in such cases it is desirable to actuate theadjacent drums at differential speeds. This result may readily beaccomplished by forming the driving gears I1 of the successive units, ofdifferent diameters as illustrated in Fig. l, so that one of thecooperating drums will rotate faster or slower than the other. Suchdifferential speed of rotation will cause the logs 9 passing from onedrum into the adjacent drum, to become dislodged from normalapproximately parallel disposition, and will tend to twist the cascadingor tumbling mass thus enhancing the rubbing and bark removing action.

During normal operation of the improved bark- Y ing drum drive, the drumunits after having been properly assembled may be utilized either singlyor in multiple, and may be mounted either with their longitudinal axeshorizontal or slightly invof the adjoining drums.

clined. The drums are normally constantly r0- tated in either direction,by application of power to the driving gears I1, and as the masses oflogs 9 are fed through the revolving drums, the logs will tumble andcascade over each other, thereby causing the bark to be removed byimpact and abrasion. The removed bark is bro-ken up into smaller piecesby the rumbling action of the logs,

, and most of the disintegrated bark is subsequently delivered from theinteriors of the drums through the'spaces 8 formed between thesuccessive bars of the drums. The logs 9 after having the bark thusremoved, are eventually delivered from the discharge ends of the drums,and in cases where Vthe drums are used in coaxial pairs or multiples,

the logs are passed successively through the cooperating coaxial drums.In cases where the drums are revolved at differential speeds byutilizing the driving gears I1 of different diameters, the impact andabrasive action on the logs is enhanced, as the logs pass from one drumto the next succeeding drum,Y by Virtue of the twisting of the logcharges due to the differential speed It should be noted that byapplying the power to the drums vat spaced zones or bull gears I2, andby associating-these ring gears directly with the supporting tires I3,and by furthermore simultaneously revolving the ring gears I2 at thesame speeds, twisting of the bars 1 intermediate their ends isdefinitely avoided. The combination of the driving bull gears I2 withthetire-rings I3, furthermore prevents the weight of these relatively heavybull gears from undesirablydeflecting the elongated bars 1 intermediatetheir ends, thus thoroughly protecting the fastenings between the bars 1and the tirerings I3 against disruption due to torsional stresses 'andalso eliminating destructive vibrations whichordinarily result fromdeflection of the bars 1.

From the foregoing detailed descriptionit will be apparent that mypresent invention provides an improved drive especially adaptable tobarking drums or the like formed of annular series of laterally spacedparallel bars, which is not only simple in construction, but which isalso highly effective in use and thoroughly protects the joints betweenthe bars and their retaining rings against destructive influences. Theimproved drive will obviously prolong the life of the barking drum unitsto a maximum by relieving the fasteners between the bars and theirsupporting rings from undesirable stresses and strains, and by operatingthe drum units in multiples and at differential speeds, the debarkingaction may be materially enhanced without complicating the assemblage.

The provision of tire-rings having cylindrical and l conical surfaces,permits most effective support-4 ing of the drums during revolutionthereof, and by providing both types of tire-rings in the same unit,expansion and contraction of the drum bars 1 may be automaticallycompensated for without danger of having the drums undesirably displacedalong their axes. The conical tires will provide an anchoring zone foreach drum, while the cylindrical tires will permit slight axial movementdue to expansion and contraction of the bars, and while the improveddrive may be advantageously applied to drums having perforations orslots formed in any manner, it is especially useful in conjunction withrevolving drums constructed of annular series or bars locally attachedto assembly and retaining rings. It is also noteworthy, that the tirerings I3 which are associated directly with the bull gears I2, need notnecessarily project from both of the opposite sides of these gears, andit is within the contemplation of the present improvement to cause thesetire rings to extend solely from one side of the annular driving gearswith which they are directly associated, and this applies to both theconical and cylindrical type of tire.

It should be understood that it is not desired to limit this inventionto the exact details of construction or to the precise mode ofoperation, herein shown and described, for various modifications withinthe scope of the appended claims may occur to persons skilled in theart.

I claim:

1. In a barking drum, an annular series of parallel bars, a combinedgear and tire assemblage embracing and locally welded to said bars neareach of the opposite end portions of said series, each of saidassemblages comprising an annular gear having supporting tire sectionsdirectly adjoining the opposite sides thereof, supporting rollerscoacting with said tire sections, the tire sections and rollers of oneset having cylindrical surfaces of coaction and the tire sections androllers of the other set having frustroconical surfaces of coaction, anda driving pinion coacting with each of said gears.

2. In a barking drum, an annular series of parallel bars, a combinedgear and tire assemmage-embracing and locally welded to said bars neareach ofthe opposite end portions of said series, each of saidassemblages comprising an annular'gear having supporting tire sectionsdi-` rectly adjoining theopposite sides thereof, supporting rollerscoacting with said tire sections, the tire sections and rollers of oneset having cylindrical surfaces of coaction and the tire sec-V tions androllers of the other set having frustroconical surfaces of coaction, adriving pinion coacting with each of said annular gears, and means forsimultaneously rotating said pinions at the same speed.

.V In a barking drum, an annular series of elongated bars, a combinedgear and tire assemblage embracing and locally attached to said barsnear each of the opposite end portions of said series, each of saidassemblages comprising an annular gear having a supporting tire directlyadjoining each of the opposite sides thereof, supporting rollerscoacting with said tires, the tires and rollers of one set havingcylindrical surfaces of coaction and the tires and rollers of the otherset having frustro-conical surfaces of coaction, and a driving pinioncoacting with each of said gears.

4. In a barking drum, an annular series of elongated bars, a combinedgear and tire assemblage embracing and locally attached to said barsnear each of the opposite end portions of said series, each of saidassemblages comprising an annular gear having a supporting tire directlyadjoining each of the opposite sides thereof, supporting rollerscoacting with said tires, the tires and rollers of one set havingcylindrical surfaces of coaction and the tires and rollers of the otherset having frustro-conical surfaces of coaction, a driving pinioncoacting with each of said annular gears, and means for simultaneouslyrotat-V ing said pnions at the same speed.

5. In a barking drum, two coaxial annular series of elongated parallelbars, a combined gear and tire assemblage embracing and locally attachedto the bars of each series near each of the opposite end portionsthereof, each of said assemblages comprising an annular gear having asupporting tire directly adjoining each of the opposite sides thereof,supporting rollers coacting with said tires, one of said assemblages andthe coacting rollers of each bar series having cylindrical surfaces ofcoaction and the other assemblage and coacting rollers of the same barseries having frustro-conical surfaces of coaction, and a driving pinioncoacting with each of said gears.

6. In a barking drum, two coaxial annular series of elongated parallelbars, a combined gear and tire assemblage embracing and locally at- Atached to the bars of each series near each of the opposite end portionsthereof, each of said assemblages comprising an annular gear having asupporting tire directly adjoining each of the opposite sides thereof,supporting rollers coacting with said tires, one of said assemblages andthe coacting rollers of each bar series having cylindrical surfaces ofcoaction and the other assemblage and coacting rollers of the'same barseries having frustro-conical surfaces of coaction, a driving pinioncoacting with each of said gears, and means for simultaneously revolvingsaid4 two-bar series through said pinions thereof at diiferentialspeeds.

7. In a barking drum, an annular series of elongated bars, a ringsecured to each of the opposite extreme ends of said series, a combinedgear and tire assemblage embracing and attached to said bar series neareach of said rings, each of said assemblages comprising an annular gearhaving a supporting tire adjoining each of the opposite sides thereof,supporting rollers coacting with said tires, one of said assemblages andthe coacting rollers having cylindrical surfaces of coaction formed topermit relative movement along the drum axis and the other of saidassemblages and the coacting rollers having frustroconical surfaces ofcoaction formed to positively prevent such relative movement duringlongitudinal expansion and contraction of said bars, and a drivingpinion coacting with each of said gears.

NEWENHAM A. GRAY.

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